Bill to Keep NCAA Fine Money in Pennsylvania Passes in House

The state’s House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would require the $60 million in fines Penn State owes the NCAA be used exclusively in Pennsylvania.

The vote passed, 194-2, and Gov. Tom Corbett is expected to sign the bill in the coming days, Sen. Jake Corman (R-Centre) said.

However, the NCAA still has a say in the matter and could choose to challenge the bill in order to ensure the money is dispersed nationwide, per its original intent. The organization has said nothing to date that would signal a willingness to keep all the money in Pennsylvania, and a request for comment by the NCAA was not immediately returned.

Corman, who proposed the legislation, said Penn State would still be in compliance with the Consent Decree it signed last summer if the money was only used in Pennsylvania.

The NCAA set up a task force in September, which will make recommendations for the structure, philosophies and policies for the endowment to the NCAA Executive Committee early this year. Once those are approved, it will solicit a third-party endowment administrator, which will choose which nonprofit groups receive funds each year.

At the NCAA’s request, Penn State set aside the first of five $12 million installments of the fine on Dec. 20 in a money market account to allow sufficient time for the task force to develop policy recommendations that will govern the endowment’s structure and operational philosophies, the organization said.

Corman filed a lawsuit against the NCAA last month in an effort to keep funds from Penn State's $60 million fine within the state. As part of the lawsuit, the NCAA agreed not to disperse any of the $12 million Penn State has paid.